New search for missing US trekker in Nepal

Kathmandu: The father of a 23-year-old American woman who went missing more than a year ago while hiking alone in Nepal says he is organising a new investigation into her disappearance because he believes she is alive and is being held against her will.

Aubrey Sacco from Greeley, Colorado, failed to return after trekking in the Langtang area of northern Nepal. It was the end of the trekking season and few other backpackers were in the area.

Her father Paul Sacco told reporters in Kathmandu on Friday that he travelled again to the area with US embassy officials this month, and villagers appeared to be hiding information about her.

He said he has new hope that his daughter is alive and believes she is being held by someone.